Delay Tactics Enacted

Chapter 4 - Delay Tactics Enacted

A once indigo sky gleaming with a creamy yellow orb casting rays of light began lightening as dawn rose with an angry red sun sending off deep gold slashes. A hideous sight came within the illumination and stunned Maurice with the pervasive blood-drenched view. Bodies were strewn everywhere on trees and elsewhere. After some searching, he finally located the girls. They sat in a small shed where only the scent of cleaned clothes was smelt.

He inhaled it, and his head cleared. "Greetings, nieces." Were they the ones he sought? Maurice studied them cautiously. The last thing he wanted to do was cause more discomfort for Duran.

The girls looked up at his voice and greeting. At first deep fear shadowed their eyes, and then they smiled at him tremulously.

"Greetings, uncle Maurice." They chorused simultaneously.

Only one of them looked around and frowned. "Ah, here is a clean bench." She tugged at it and grunted.

"Let me do that." Maurice rearranged it. He frowned at the sight of a recumbent boy beneath it. "What in the world?"

The three girls scoffed. "Uh, that would be Lowell. He's shirking duties as usual." One of them prodded him barefoot. "Wake up, cowardly brat. Go and do your chores!"

"Stop prodding me, Ellie." Lowell snapped. "Else, do you want me to deal with you?" The palpable menace in his voice made Maurice sigh.

That's when Lowell registered his presence and sneered. "Oh, it is the Uncle that favors Duran." He glowered at Maurice and stomped out without following through on his implied threat of violence.

"Great, now we're in for a noisy morning," Ellie muttered unhappily. "He's been sulking ever since Andre returned from overseas work." She glanced at her sisters. "What were we doing again, Sina, Rosie?"

Those must be the nicknames for Alessandra, Ambrosia, and Roselle. They did fit the trio to some degree. "I see." What a mess. Maurice exhaled heavily. "I wondered, did any of you three want to leave this place? Even if it might mean not seeing Duran for a while?"

There was unsettled silence. The three girls exchanged glances, heaved sighs of relief, and shrugged with nods of agreement. That surprised Maurice. Now he understood why they were considered salvageable.

Ellie captured his attention. "Honestly? We don't mind if it means less of a burden to Duran." She pushed a hand through strawberry-colored curls. Her light gray eyes regarded him somberly from a freckled face. "What do you think, Sina, Roselle?"

Another spoke, Sina, Maurice thought because it seemed they said in order of age. Sina regarded him soberly. she had dark green eyes, maroon hair, and freckled but darker skin. "We took advantage of him for so long." She sighed in frustration. "He is too compassionate and kind-hearted for his own good."

"Ah, that I do agree with." Maurice glanced at the third girl. She blinked at him.

"Sister, I don't think we were ever properly introduced to Uncle Maurice." The third girl had an unusual case of black hair and black eyes. she rubbed her jaw uncertainly. "That always means he took beatings intended for us."

Maurice nodded. "I am Maurice Roma, one of your father's older brothers."

Their surprise alerted him to something unusual. "Ah, so father and mother lied about us not having uncles who could possibly help us," Ellie murmured. "Well, better late than never." She gestured to her sisters. "This is Ambrosia, known as Sina, and Roselle, known as Rosie. I'm Alessandra, known more commonly as Ellie." She inclined her head to him. "As far as I know, we're the only three who treat our brother with a modicum of respect."

Maurice could see why Duran cherished them so much. It wasn't just that they treated him with respect. They genuinely loved him for his hard work. "Well, I know of some people aware of your existence and what is happening here." He scratched his head. "I'll see about getting you out of here. Maribel is also here to assist with that."

Only she was hampered by the kill order. Maurice grimaced slightly. "Think about it while the morning meal occurs." He advised them. "Then tell me what your decision is."

Ellie, Sina, and Rosie glanced at one another and swallowed. "We don't have to think about it," Ellie told him. "We accept if it takes a burden off Andre, Maribel, and Duran."

The fact that they omitted Tallow and Rafael warned Maurice that they either knew nothing about those older brothers or rarely came into contact and didn't know who they were. Maurice nodded in pleased relief. "If you have any prized possessions you wish to take with you, please pack them. Be ready to leave sometime in the afternoon or evening." He suspected that Maribel had some arrangement already in place.

*

As a matter of fact, Maribel indeed was getting that very business completed. Not only that, but she was having fun annoying Matilda and Dougal in the dining room. Maribel had noticed who gathered so far and was puzzled. Tallow and Rafael hadn't appeared yet, but she figured they were busy dealing with some other complication she wasn't aware of. Not that it mattered to Maribel. Right now, she kept Matilda and Dougal occupied and out of the way.

Matilda scowled at Maribel. "What is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" She folded her arms. "The beating this morning wasn't enough to make you subservient?"

Her choice of words aggravated Maribel. "Who said I should be subservient to you once I was married off?" She tilted her head. "I do believe that wasn't in the rules of Julienne?" Unless her parents fomented trouble with rebellious individuals loyal to other royal factions.

Matilda stiffened. Her eyes narrowed. "Don't push me too far or make assumptions." She shrugged. "As it is, I can always annul the contract between you and Stephen Rockson at any time." Her smirk conveyed the confidence she held about that prospect.

Hmm, so that is what it had been. A simple business contract between Rockson and Roma. That poor female, she'd had a rough life. Maribel sighed because this was sickening to her. "I see. Well, I hope you didn't have plans for the children still here." She watched Matilda closely. "I've heard that Trinidad and Soledad will arrive soon to take some of them for further fostering and educational purposes." Maribel's eyebrows arched. "Did you not receive the news?"

Right then, Tallow appeared. "Oh, father, I have some questions about the farmland to the north. Could we go examine them? I saw Jamison, Corlevan, and Flores all walking along the furthermost border."

Dougal stood up, alarmed. "Say what? Why are they over there?" His sputtering seemed somewhat over the top to Maribel. She sat back with a smirk. "That reminds me, Miss Daisy, Miss Carlene, and Mrs. Josephina Barlow will arrive soon." She named the aunt and two cousins that Matilda actually kept in touch with from her side of the family. "Evidently, they were summoned to assist with acquiring the boys and girls from this Stronghold?"

Either way, Mirabel saw it, Matilda would no longer have unpaid slave labor by the time she, Andre, Tallow, and Rafael were through with this place. Even Uncle Maurice had a hand in everything that was going on. She shifted uncomfortably. Soon enough, the final confrontation would occur.

*

Ugh, what timing, Rafael rested his forehead against the wall of the nightmarish Stronghold. He straightened up with a sigh and regarded his companions with lifted eyebrows. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

The ladies, as mentioned earlier, Daisy, Carlene, and Josephina, stood in magnificent array. They chose to dress in a manner that would prove their higher ranking over Matilda. Not that Rafael believed for one moment that their ruse would work.

Josephina shrugged. Her black eyes glinted angrily. "If it means getting some of our children back, yes, I want to do this." She sighed. "I just hope that Roselle and Leonard are doing okay."

Daisy rolled her eyes. "If nephew Duran was in charge of those six, I'm sure that they're relatively well mannered." A movement caught her eye. "Who's there?"

Huh? There were others in the corridor? Rafael turned his head to survey the shadows that resolved into three boys and three girls. His eyebrows lifted when he recognized them. "Ah, speak of the young miscreants and misses," Rafael murmured. "Here they are."

Ellie, Sina, and Roselle shrank back upon seeing him. They eyed the three ladies in confusion and glanced at one another. "Could they be the ones Uncle Maurice mentioned earlier?" The girls seemed very uncomfortable with the situation.

The boys just looked at one another in confusion. They obviously had no idea what was going on. At last, Sylvester cleared his throat. "Might I inquire as to who they are, brother Rafael?" He recognized Rafael, but not the ladies standing there.

Huh, this was definitely interesting. Duran had indeed inculcated some manners into them. Very basic, but Sylvester evidently had taken to the education with gusto. The others, not so much. They were rolling their eyes in disgust.

Rafael smiled. "They are in order of rank, Lady Josephine Barlow, Eldest Miss Daisy, and Second Miss Carlene. I believe they might be your biological family." Why not drop the bomb here and let the nine sort it out? It wasn't his job to clarify matters.

"You idiot nephew." Josephina swiped at him with her fan.

Rafael dodged it with a chuckle. "You know how long you've wanted to reclaim them. Now's your chance, dear Aunt." He emphasized the relationship. "Besides, if you don't, I have reason to believe they'll be sold off into slavery."

His warning made the three ladies and kids blanch. "That is why Matilda and Dougal called those former business partners here, for I've only learned much earlier." Rafael cast a wary eye over the children. Beneath layers of acquired grime from being amid chores, they were actually quite beautiful with their odd coloration of hair, eye, and skin tone. Since he was one of them, it didn't bother Rafael that he'd gone through a similar experience. He'd killed his owner and gone through hell for it.

Nonetheless, Rafael survived and lived to gain confidence in his ability to survive just about anything. Well, anything but a forced command appearance by Matilda and Dougal. Now that, he wasn't as sure about. He wasn't keen on doing much else besides the bare minimum of causing headaches for them.

*

Damned interfering sons and daughters of his, Dougal couldn't believe what was happening right now. Or rather, he could feel it but didn't want to acknowledge they'd turned traitor on him and Matilda. After all this time, directly, they descended upon the Stronghold to cause chaos. Dougal and Matilda almost collected the spiritual and souls necessary to activate the final stage of the orb. This wasn't just disastrous. It was an unfortunate stumbling block to their success.

Oh well, Dougal sighed. He would deal with them later. He cast an annoyed stare at the council members who'd chosen to survey that area rather unexpected. Well, if they wanted to go there, that was fine. More fertilizer was needed to make the crops flourish for the upcoming harvest. He stroked his jaw in consideration of salvaging the situation somehow. This type of disturbance never fared well for the acquisition of power later. Dougal sighed. Damned offspring wouldn't see eye to eye on anything he and Matilda did lately as positive for the future.

As for how the fertilizer came about, the land would acquire one way or another. Dougal smirked slightly. "Yes, we can do the survey now, if you wish." His smirk faded when Tallow made to follow them. "I think not. You should return and get ready for the morning meal."

Dougal watched as Tallow's hands fisted. Ah, so he'd some nefarious plot in mind, eh?

As far as Dougal was concerned, Tallow and Rafael came with a new set of problems that were unacceptable to him right now. He had enough difficulties thanks to Andre and Maribel turning up right now. With all four of them? There had to be something more than met the eye going on here.

There was no way Dougal wanted Tallow around these people. He suspected Tallow would run his mouth most inconveniently. Lately, all of his adult children did that with such relish it had to be intentional, and Dougal tired of it. He would also alert Matilda to what he'd realized about these nuisances. Dearest? They are all conspiring against us. You'd better send someone to guard the orb. Dougal judged it wise to not leave the sphere unattended. Who knew what might happen if that item holding their reserves was destroyed? He didn't even want to consider the aftereffect once it exploded. A sigh escaped him. A man's work was never done when disciplining misbehaving children. Even if they were adults, Dougal shrugged, that didn't mean they could run amok doing what they pleased.

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